Human Resources Business Partner - North Ryde

Freedom Australia; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work flexibility

Discounts on Freedom products

Career development

Collaborative People & Culture team

Health & wellbeing programs

Hands-on impact

Job summary

Freedom Australia is seeking an experienced HR Business Partner to act as a trusted partner to operational leaders across Australia and New Zealand. The role reports to the GM People & Culture and supports stores and distribution centres with practical HR solutions in a fast-moving retail environment.

The successful candidate will manage ER/IR, support workforce planning, development programs and leadership coaching, while balancing business needs with people priorities.

Qualifications

• Solid HR generalist experience in a business-facing role.
• Strong knowledge of Australian employment legislation, Modern Awards and Enterprise Agreements, with NZ retail context.

Responsibilities

• Deliver and manage the people plan for client group across Australia and New Zealand.
• Handle employee relations, investigations, terminations and performance matters.
• Support succession, workforce planning and development programs.
• Ensure compliance with people processes and legislation.
• Partner with operational leaders to drive engagement and culture initiatives.
• Coach leaders to strengthen accountability and leadership capability.

Skills

HR generalist

Employment law

Enterprise agreements

Employee relations

Commercial acumen

Leadership partnering

Job description

About This Role

Why You'll Be Excited About This Role

This is an opportunity to be a trusted people partner to operational leaders across one of Australia and New Zealand's most recognised home and lifestyle brands.

As HR Business Partner, you'll report to our GM People & Culture and partner closely with leaders across our stores and distribution centres, providing practical and commercially focused HR support.

This is a broad, hands on role where no two days will look the same. You'll support succession, workforce planning, training and leadership development, while helping leaders solve real people challenges across their teams.

You'll manage ER and IR matters end to end within your portfolio, support rostering change and consultation, and drive performance, culture and engagement.

This isn't a role that waits to be asked. We're looking for someone proactive and commercially minded who gets close to the business, challenges leaders when needed and helps them make good people decisions quickly.

You'll help your client group navigate change, strengthen leadership capability and build greater accountability, while balancing the needs of our people with the commercial realities of a fast moving retail business.

What You'll Be Working On

• Delivering the people plan for your client group and keeping BAU running smoothly, day to day.
• Managing employee relations matters including performance, conduct, grievances, investigations and terminations across your client group in Australia and New Zealand.
• Supporting succession, workforce planning and development programs for your client group.
• Ensuring people practices and processes within your client group are compliant.
• Supporting Freedom's industrial relations approach for your client group, including Enterprise Agreement negotiation, Modern Award interpretation and day to day union relationships.
• Keeping across employment legislation and regulatory change relevant to your client group and translating this into practical action for leaders.
• Coaching leaders to strengthen accountability, address underperformance, and build day to day leadership capability.
• Supporting organisational change, including restructures and consultation processes, within your client group.
• Driving engagement and culture initiatives for your client group and turning employee insights into practical action.
• Supporting goal setting, remuneration reviews and reward processes for your client group.
• Using people data to spot trends and risks and support compliance reporting for your client group.
• Partnering with the WHS team as needed on people cases.

What Type of Person Will Succeed

You are an experienced HR professional who combines strong technical HR capability with commercial judgement and a genuine bias for action.

You Will Bring

• Solid HR generalist experience, with demonstrated experience operating in a business-facing role.
• Strong knowledge of Australian employment legislation, Modern Awards and Enterprise Agreements, with working knowledge of the New Zealand employment environment in Retail and Distribution.
• Experience managing employee and industrial relations matters, including performance, conduct and grievances.
• Solid understanding of Enterprise Agreement processes and working constructively with unions and employee representatives.
• Developing commercial acumen and the ability to connect people decisions with day to day business performance.
• Experience partnering with operational leaders and the confidence to constructively challenge when required.
• A pragmatic, solutions focused approach and the ability to operate effectively in a fast paced, hands on environment.
• The ability to use data and insights to identify workforce trends and inform decisions.

Why You'll Like Working Here

At Freedom, we believe our people are what make us different.

You'll join a business that is evolving, with the opportunity to genuinely support how we lead, develop and support our people across Australia and New Zealand.

You'll work closely with operational leaders and be part of a collaborative People & Culture team, with the opportunity to make a visible, practical difference to the leaders and teams you support.

In return, you'll enjoy:

• Hybrid working flexibility.
• Generous team member discounts across Freedom and Amart products.
• Career development and progression opportunities.
• A collaborative People & Culture team.
• Access to health and wellbeing initiatives.
• The opportunity to make a genuine, hands-on impact at one of Australia's most recognised home and lifestyle brands.